Improving Health

Each community’s health must be judged by the health ofits most vulnerable people: children, the elderly and theeconomically disadvantaged.We are dedicated to improvinghealth infrastructure, education and access

For us, improving health starts by
giving back to our communities. That
means helping to identify areas of
medical need across the United States
and responding to those needs with
community-based solutions. Our goal
is to make high-quality health care a
reality for every person through better
education, smarter investments and an
unwavering commitment to building a
stronger health care system.

Today, trauma is the leading cause of death and disability
in children. But evidence shows that pediatric trauma
patients have a much better chance of survival and
recovery when treated at a specialized children’s hospital.

As part of our United Minnesota initiative, a 10-year,
$100 million philanthropic program to support health
and communities in Minnesota, UnitedHealthcare
awarded Children’s Foundation in Minneapolis a
$17.5 million gift to enhance trauma care for children
in the Upper Midwest. It marks the largest
philanthropic contribution in the company’s history.

The funding is being used to create a Level I Pediatric
Trauma Center at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics
of Minnesota’s (Children’s) Minneapolis campus. It
will also fund the newly expanded UnitedHealthcare
Pediatric Emergency Department at Children’s.

Children’s has served the unique needs of families
and children in the Twin Cities since 1924. It’s an
independent, not-for-profit health care system
that handles more than 200,000 emergency room
and outpatient visits every year, and it is the only
Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive
care exclusively to children.

According to Dr. David Hirschman, medical director of
Trauma at Children’s, treating children who are victims
of trauma requires a different approach than treating
an adult.

“Kids are different in terms of size and their
experience with pain, with anxiety and with suffering,”
said Hirschman.

Minnesota resident Kris Moos experienced firsthand
how the expertise offered by Children’s saves lives
after her stepson, Alan, was injured in a near-fatal
car accident.

Alan Moos had suffered a severely crushed and
lacerated liver, a collapsed lung, ruptured bladder and
shattered pelvis after the car he was riding in with
his father, Jeff, and his 10-year-old brother, Riley, was
struck by another vehicle near their hometown of
Milaca, Minnesota.

Unconscious and with only a weak heartbeat, Alan was
airlifted and stabilized at a local hospital. But soon he
developed acute respiratory distress syndrome — a life-threatening
condition resulting from the injuries to his
lungs. Immediately, Alan’s doctors looked to Children’s
for help.

“They were very clear,” said Kris Moos. “The doctors
told us, ‘If we don’t move him [to Children’s] we will
lose him.’”

At Children’s, Alan was treated with extracorporeal
membrane oxygenation, or ECMO. Often used
following pediatric heart surgery, ECMO does the
work of a patient’s heart and lungs, giving the body
time to heal.

Kris Moos said her family found a “warm and
comforting” environment at Children’s. “We were
involved in every step of Alan’s care. We were at his
bedside constantly. They told us everything and even
showed us procedures in progress.”

After 25 days on ECMO, Alan’s condition improved.
Soon he was responding to family members and
began asking questions about his condition. Today,
Alan is a strong and healthy teenager.

Kris Moos credits Alan’s remarkable recovery to
Children’s expertise and says the funding donated
by UnitedHealthcare for a new Trauma Center will
give hope to families throughout the Upper Midwest.
“Kids are clearly different from adults,” said Moos.
“Children’s knew more about the care Alan needed.
With a new Trauma Center, they will be able to do
even more to save children’s lives.”

In addition to the Trauma Center, the gift from
UnitedHealthcare is enabling Children’s to recruit
additional pediatric specialists in areas such as
orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery and anesthesia;
expand training and education opportunities for
pediatric specialists and EMS personnel in the five-state
region; and develop injury prevention public
education programs.

Finally, the UnitedHealthcare Pediatric Emergency
Department at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics will
add two state-of-the-art trauma bays, four new
procedure rooms, a new triage area, an ambulance
bay and a communications dispatch center.

“This kind of gift is going to lead to improvements that
are going to help heal children for decades to come,”
said Gary Wright, chief of Clinical Care at Children’s.

Richard Migliori, M.D., executive vice president and
chief medical officer, Health Services, UnitedHealth
Group, and Children’s board member, said the new
trauma facilities will strengthen trauma services
across the region.

“We recognize the significant need for specialized
pediatric trauma research, treatment and prevention
efforts,” said Migliori. “Children’s is uniquely positioned
to make measurable progress on these fronts to deliver
enhanced care to thousands of children.”

The vision is clear and the commitment is strong:
to create a premier site for the evaluation, treatment
and expert care of children with severe and life-threatening
injuries.

This new center will serve both as a catalyst for much-needed
pediatric trauma research on a national scale,
as well as new trauma prevention efforts throughout
the Upper Midwest.

Video

UnitedHealthcare awarded Children’s Foundation
in Minneapolis a $17.5 million gift to enhance
trauma care for children in the Upper Midwest.

Patient Alan Moos and his stepmother Kris
with Alan Goldbloom, M.D., president and
CEO of Children’s of Minnesota at the
dedication of the new Pediatric Trauma Center.